How To Love
by Lea Louder
Summary: What if the people you've known all your life held the biggest secret from you? What happens when you've moved around a little too much? How about your best friend? To what extent does that relationship go? Angie, Eliza, Peggy, John, Alex, Herc, and Laf have been friends since they were kids! What could they possibly hide? Apparently, a lot. They just don't know it yet... *Lams*
1. Chapter 1

The hurricane was finally over. After 3 days of torment, Nevis was again at peace. Only a hand full had survived, including Alexander Hamilton. Everyone slowly began recovering from the damage and returning back to their families since the majority of families had gotten separated during the storm. Many were left orphans making the already small and now destroyed orphanage very packed and not very ideal. Half of the building still stood but had no roof. The other half had no walls and some of the floor plan left. Not only that, but there were not enough beds. Extra mattresses were put out on the floor, some being ripped or without springs in them, while the rest slept on blankets or any piece of fabric that could be found in the default of the disaster. As for the rest of the people on the island, they struggled to find simple things like food, clothes, freshwater, or shelter. But with everything being at such a limit, everyone soon found themselves growing closer together, helping one another out. They would all meet on the beach where it was the cleanest- not including the large mountains of default along the far ends of the beach- and had the most space available every night and form a bond fire and share food, concerns, and any other thing that could be provided or shared. It filled the people with hope and joy and they felt as if they were part of a small family. Alexander was only 7 years old at the time, but he'd often make up stories during the day just to tell them to everyone when night fell. They loved hearing his stories. It brought everyone joy, and that made Alex happy. During the day when he wasn't making up stories, he'd find himself helping out the community clean the town, helping out one of the mothers (that's what he would call them) with the younger children at the orphanage, or looking for food, water, and clothes like everyone else. When it became late, he would rush to a mattress on the floor before they were all taken. He had been in the orphanage for a year now before the storm hit, and technically had a bed, but he would always give it up for someone else. 'Mother Victoria says since I've been here longer and already had some nights on the bed, I should let others who haven't had a chance on the bed have their chance on it, and I agree with her.' He would say. It was extremely uncomfortable, even for a child who had a lot of tolerance to these types of things, but the children on the island learned to live with what they got and not to complain since A) complaining won't fix the issue, and B) there were others who had it worse. Someone always had it worse…

3 months had passed since the disaster hit, and it was now December. People from different parts of the world had come to help the island but America was the one that really made a difference there. Soldiers had come to help protect and help provide food and other necessities. On top of that, volunteers had come to help fix the town and bring fresh water to people. Soon, the American government decided to take their help a bit further. They raised funds throughout the country to bring the orphans to America and have them be kept in better conditions. They promised that everyone would be given a bed, food, clothes, and soon a new, loving family. To be honest, they didn't really have a choice in the matter of if they wanted the children to go to America or not. They were kind of forced there.

"But do I have to go?" Alex whined.

*sigh* "sadly yes. But it's ok because everything will be so much better there anyways!" Victoria, one of the caretakers at the orphanage reassured him.

"I don't want to leave! This is my home! Not America! Nevis!" He replied trying to fight his way into staying home.

"shhh shhh shhh. I promise you will love it there! And you're going to make so many friends! Just… promise me you'll never forget from whence you came. Ok?" Victoria said trying to be strong for the little boy she was kneeling in front of.

"But I don't want to leave you! Can't I stay with you and-" Alex tried to ask again but got cut off.

"Ah ah ah. Promise me." She said with her finger in the air for emphases.

*sigh* "I promise Mother Victoria." He said defeated, looking to the floor now. Victoria let go of his hands and hugged him tight, a tear escaping her eyes. Alex clutched on to her like a bear and hoped he could have stayed like that forever but at last, the flight attendant of the private plane ushered Alex to get in the aircraft. He walked through the aisle of the plane looking for a seat when he finally found one next to the window, towards the end. He looked out and saw all of the Mothers staring back at the plain, waving, including mother Victoria. After about 7 minutes, the plane was speeding down the runway and took off into the air. The mood on the plane was a melancholy one and barley anyone spoke as they flew further and further away from the only home they ever knew. This was it. They were gone. Most likely to never return again. If only they knew that their last bond fire on the beach, was their last.

The plane landed at Tampa International Airport, but they were not to all stay there. You see, the U.S. government wanted to make sure that they would be evenly distributed among different orphanages as to not upset the balance and cause a shortage of supplies and resources in any of them, so the kids were separated into different states. 3 were left in Florida, then the plane took off again. 10 were left in Texas, 5 in Kansas, 15 in New Mexico, 12 in Michigan, 3 in California, and 2 in South Carolina. Alex was left in South Carolina with another older boy that he didn't really know, so all together, he felt like he was completely alone. Once he was dropped off at the airport, a woman escorted them to a car outside in the parking lot. She wore a white button-up shirt which was tucked into her black pencil skirt that reached her knees. Her red high heels and red jewelry added an accent color to her black and white uniform. Her black blazer made her look like she had a strong role in an office like the boss, and her blonde hair that was wrapped into a bun accentuated that look. Her skin was pale, and her deep brown eyes were stone hard and cold. She just looked intimidating. She drove for what seemed like forever before she got to the building with a sign that read "South Carolina's Orange Groove Orphanage." The boys were brought in by the unnamed women who drove them there, and they were put into the system. Now, they lived there and had to make the best of it. A tour was given, rules were read, and beds were passed down to the two boys. They were in two separate rooms which left them even more alone. Each room was a decent size with 2 rows of beds with chests at the end of each one. It was like this on the other side of the room where the second row was as well. Alex's bed was somewhat at the end of the room but also somewhat in the middle. He put away what little he had brought into the chest at the end of his bed, and then just sat there. He really missed Nevis and he really missed Mother Victoria.

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading this first chapter of such a complex, long, and exciting story. I have so much planned for this story and have been writing it for some time now and I think it's finally time I get to posting it.**

**Disclaimers:**

*** The ships that will be included in this story are Lams (The main one), Mullette, Maria x Peggy, Hamliza, Burrdosia and I'm sure there will be more, but they are much further down the line, so I'm not 100% sure yet.**

*** The story is rated M for mature topics such as Abuse, Self-harm, addiction of both nicotine and alcohol, strong language and adult themes, but once again, most of these will be set for later on in the story and I will be posting disclaimers for it before the chapter begins.**

*** I have been trying non-stop (No pun intended) to find information on how the whole process and living of children in orphanages, group homes and children in foster care and it has been very hard to find information, so if anything is inaccurate, please tell me for future reference, I would REALLY appreciate it!**

*** Because I couldn't find much info on these subjects, I made my own truth for the mater. They will be living in an orphanage where couples can either adopt or foster them. If they are not with a family, they are at the orphanage, and if they are with a family, they are either being fostered by them or got adopted, but I will write which one it is of course. Again, sorry if this is not how it really works.**

*** In no way, shape or form am I making fun of any of the topics in this story, but if you have read anything else from me, you will know that I enjoy writing about topics that don't get talked about a lot or topics that spread awareness on certain issues. Feel free to share some of your own experiences on the matter with me if you can relate/ feel comfortable about it. I love hearing from you guys.**

**That's all for now, see you next chapter! Oh! And hang tight. This story is a roller coaster!**


	2. Chapter2

The first day in Orange Groove was a blur and didn't really matter. No one seemed to notice or care about the two new kids, which was somewhat good. Alex didn't speak that whole day to anyone. The next day came and same thing. He went to the dining hall, ate what they had served for breakfast, and then went back to laying in his bed. The third day came and Alex had planned to just lay in bed again, but one of the care takers told him to go outside and make some friends. It didn't really sound like a suggestion and for the first time, Alex didn't feel like arguing about it, so he did as told. He went outside to the snowy field where kids where running, screaming, playing with balls, playing hop scotch, jump rope, and other games, but he just sat up against the wall of the building with his knees to his chest, but put his head sideways so he can look at the other kids playing. He then caught a boy about his age looking at him. Once they made eye contact though, the boy looked away. Weird. He did it twice that day, and then some more the next day after that. The sixth day there, Alex was outside sitting against the wall wrapped up in a Coat, which was really baggy on him, but he was cold so still wore It. He wasn't used to the cold and so far he didn't like it, but he learned from his island to never complain. The boy that had been staring at Alex for the past two days started to walk up to him though that day. He slid down next to Alex and sat next to him.

"Hi. My name is John. John Laurens. What's your name?" He said looking at Alexander.

"Uh h-hi. My name Is Alexander Hamilton." Alexander said shyly.

"Nice to meet you Alex. Wait is it ok if I all you that?" John asked. This made Alex giggle a little.

"Sure."

"OK great. Well Alex, I've noticed that you're new here. Where are you from?" John asked curiously.

"Oh um, I come from this Island. It's called Nevis. I had to come here though. What about you?" Alex said opening up a little more.

"I'm from here. So how old are you? I'm 8!" He proudly said.

"I'm about to turn 8 next month." Alex Said with confidence.

"Cool! So we are pretty much the same age! Hey, wanna be friends?!" John asked optimistically.

"Yeah I would love to be friends with you!" Alex said excitedly. And this was the beginning of a friendship that would last for a long time.

The two got closer each day and soon became best friends. They traded beds with a kid there so they could be closer, since their beds weren't really that close in the room and would stay up and talk every night. When school started again after winter break, the two were lucky enough to have the same class. John was Alex's guide at school and helped him out with regular things such as school work, rules, and what they had to do at certain times since he was new there and obviously didn't know any better. Everything was good.

"6 AM! EVERYONE UP!" One of the care takers yelled at the top of her lungs as she turned on all of the lights as to wake up all of the children at once for school. Everyone groaned and dragged themselves out of bed and began to get ready for their school day. Alex threw on a blue long sleeved shirt, along with jeans. He then took out a jacket, a hat, and gloves from the chest and left it there to grab before he was to leave. John put on an aqua blue long sleeve with a turtle on it along with some dark blue jeans. He also took out a jacket, hat and gloves from the chest and left it there like Alex. They went to the dining hall together silently, and sat at a table together. Soon, the cook Came out with a big bowl of simple, scrambled eggs and put some on each child's plate. Everyone ate quickly without saying a word to each other then put Their plate in the huge dish washer and continued to get ready by doing things like brushing their teeth, doing their hair, and making sure their homework was done. Once the clock struck 7:17 am, some of them left to catch their bus including Alex and John. The walk wasn't that far, maybe about 5 minuets away from the orphanage. Once they were there, Alex and John sat on the curb and started to talk.

"So yeah, like I was saying before, Imelda started to talk smack about Marco to everyone, so someone then told him what she was doing and now he is mad at her because it's all lies right? So now he's saying that he is going to confront her in front of everyone today at around 3 maybe."

"And where did you hear all of this?" Alex asked John, confused about how his friend was so involved in the gossip of the orphanage.

"Ok well you know Marie Ann right?" John said.

"Yea…"

"Ok so she is friends with one of the older kids from room 645 and he told her about it, then I heard her blabbering it all to Abigail."

"… So you were eavesdropping?"

"Ummmm…. Noo???" John said, trying to sound innocent. The bus then came at that exact moment. They got on and sat in the somewhat middle, closer to the front. They continued their conversation and got to school in about 10 minuets. Once there, they went to their class and waited for the class to start.

"Yay! Lunch! Finally!" John said with enthusiasm.

"When aren't you hungry?" Alex asked, laughing.

"That is a good question, that the world may never be able to answer!" he said and they both laughed. They both ate pizza with Apple slices, along with chocolate milk. They finished pretty quickly and were soon on their way back to class.

Before they knew it, the school day was over and they were on the bus again, on their way to Orange Groove. At the orphanage, they ran into their room, 176, and did their homework as soon as possible as to get it out of the way. They always did this so that they could then relax and play, and all that good stuff. All they had for homework was to solve some math problems, then write on a paper about what they learned in class today. After they were done with that, they colored, then solved some puzzles. Then just like John said, at 3 pm, Marco confronted Imelda and everyone sat there and watched like if it was a movie. Soon it was 9:30 pm and everyone started to head to bed so that they can get ready early in the morning the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was now June and school was out for the summer. The kids didn't have much to do, and mostly played, and did interviews with couples who were looking to adopt. John and Alex loved to pull pranks. That was their thing. They both snickered as they peered from the corner of a wall and into the kitchen where their traps lied. They watched as the cook walked over to the oven to open it when they realized that they couldn't. Frustrated, the cook walked to the fridge and tried to open that, but then again, couldn't. Growling in anger as they put all their force to open the fridge and oven, the two boys finally couldn't take it anymore and gave in. They howled in laughter and desperately tried to gasp for air. When the cook turned around and saw them, his eyes practically glowed red, and smoke puffed from his ears. John in Alex, still filled with pride and amusement from their trick, quickly ran away yelling "AHHH!" in a playful matter. Defeated and realizing what the boys had done, the cook stomped and tried to find a way to remove the crazy glue from the two appliances. Meanwhile, Alex and John made it back to their room and were stretched out across the floor, still laughing.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

One of the caretakers walked into room 176 where she found both Alex and John coloring on paper on the floor.

"Alexander. John. There is a couple here that would like to meet you!" she said from the doorway.

"Both of us?" Alex asked in confusion yet hope.

"Yes. We know how close you boys are and have said that you guys must remain together. Like brothers." She said with a smile. This caused the two boys' eyes to widen as they looked at each other, then they suddenly jolted up and ran into the front lobby where a middle-aged man and woman were waiting for them. Maybe in their early 30's if they were to guess. They all sat in a special room meant for these interviews and they simply talked and got to know each other. Both Alex and John had done these types of meetings with other people many times, but never together. They honestly didn't have that much hope that they would be adopted or fostered by these people due to how many interviews they each had done. They were just happy to be doing it together. After it was over, good news came to the boys. The couple really liked them both and decided to foster them. The only thing was that they lived in New York. They had come to South Carolina just to give other children a chance and to see variety. The couple was to pick them up the next day, and Alex and John were stoked. They would be leaving the orphanage, going to a new state, and most importantly, they would be together. They packed what little they had and got ready to leave the next day.

They woke up at 8:00 AM, ate something small for breakfast, then the couple came and picked them up, and they drove to the airport. As they hopped out of the rental car and started going up to check-in, Alex found his hands getting clammy. The last time he was on a plane, he was leaving his home forever—forcefully. John, being his best friend and all, noticed this and patted his back saying that it was going to be ok. John knew all about why he was nervous and had to reassure him that this was never their home and that New York will be amazing and they would love it there. That's what mother Victoria had said.

They both sat together and their foster parents, Alice and Theodore, sat behind them. They had gotten a good seat by the window where they could have seen everything. At least John did. Alex sat in the middle and no one was on the end. The flight wasn't long, and before they knew it, they were landing at JFK.

"Are you boys hungry?" Alice asked them as they stepped off the plane.

"I guess," Alex said, unsure how to tell her that YES! They were starving but didn't want to seem needy. Theodore and Alice decided to take them to a small café by the airport before they drove home. They let them get whatever they wanted, which was the best thing ever from the boys' point of view. The food was 10x better than the food at Orange Groove. After they ate, they all piled into their car and drove for about 15 minutes to a tall brick building. Theodore parked into the parking garage, and then led the boys inside to the 6th floor where their apartment was. It wasn't much but had a decent kitchen, a living room, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. John and Alex were to share a room. When they went to check their room out, they saw it had a window with a view of an ally, and a bunk bed. Alex was very excited about that part since he has never seen a bunk bed in person, never mind own one, so of course, he called top bunk. John also wanted top bunk and they fought about it for a bit until John gave up and gave it to Alex. They decided to share the top bunk, with Alex having it first, then switching so John could have it after 3 months. They were given hangers and they hung what little clothes they had. Over some time, Theodore and Alice had brought them more clothes, and they were all happy and good. During July, they went to different beaches and Coney Island. These foster parents were truly the best! They were loving and took good care of the boys. When August came, it was time to go to school, and to be honest, they were both a nervous wreck. I mean, first, this was New York! Not their small town in South Carolina. It would be much different. Second, 4th grade was a big grade, but when August 15th came, Alice woke the boys up and got them ready for school. They were shown where the bus stop was and waited there. Once the bus came, 4 kids, including them, got on. People were talking and laughing and playing with each other as John and Alex tried to find a seat. Luckily, there was an empty seat in the middle, by the emergency exit. No one really talked to them on the bus, so they just conversed between themselves trying to compare the two states. The school wasn't far, being only about 5 blocks away from the apartment. Once there, everyone got off of the bus, and John and Alex just followed everyone else in the school. They couldn't go into their classroom yet, so they just waited in the hallway of their class. At 8 am, the bell rang, and the classroom door opened, and all the students got in, and sat in a seat. Alex and John kind of just stood in the back of the room awkwardly, not knowing where to sit.

"Good morning everyone," the teacher spoke to the class, which was returned with another good morning from the kids.

"Ah! You two must be the newly enrolled students. Nice to meet you. I'm Ms. Orcabelly and you are?" She said to them, waiting for an answer.

"Um I'm John Laurens, and this is Alexander Hamilton," John said, introducing Alex since he knew how shy he could get with newer people.

"What beautiful names! Ok so can you two please sit in those two seats there, by the bookshelf?" She said pointing to the middle left side of the classroom, showing them the two desks. Thank God they were next to each other. They nodded and sat in the seats and the class began. She started by having everyone do an ice breaker. All they had to do was say hi and introduce yourself to 4 new people in the room, then draw a picture on paper she provided that shows one of their memories from the summer. Both John and Alex drew the same thing. Them gluing the kitchen appliances shut at the orphanage, but like always when it had to do with art, John did much better. That surprisingly took almost all the time, and right after that, they were taken to the cafeteria for lunch. They both had chicken bites with ketchup, chocolate milk, and a side of Apple slices. To be honest, the food pretty much tasted the same as the school lunch in South Carolina, so they didn't complain. After lunch, they had music, then Pe. After Pe, they went back to the classroom for about 20 minutes, then went back home. During the day, they had managed to make two friends, and kind of formed a group together. Their names were Ezera Martinez and Eric Canner. They stayed friends throughout the school year, even when their time with Alice and Theodore was up. They did go back to an orphanage, but not back to Orange Groove. Since they were in New York, they had to stay in Graham Windham. A private orphanage that was founded by Phillipa Soo, the wife of the founding father, Lin-Manuel Maranda. Anyway, the school was still in the district zone of the orphanage, so they remained there.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was written a while ago and so the writing style is a bit… forging to me. I'm not 100% content with the way this chapter is written, but I am going to leave it like this as a way to show that as they get older, the grammar and syntax of this story gets better. Almost as a way to show how they mature throughout the years. Hope to see you guys soon in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

One year has passed since Alex and John moved to New York, and they are now starting 5th grade. Both of their friends, Eric and Ezera had moved so they no longer went to that school. As they hopped on the bus and got to school, they talked the whole way. In school, the teacher, Mrs. Vincent, had them all sit on the carpet by the book shelf in a circle and they went around it, saying their name, age, favorite color, favorite animal, then something interesting about themself. Yeah; One of _those_ annoying ice breakers like always. Before they knew it, it was John's turn, then Alex's next, since they sat next to each other.

"My name is John, I'm 10 years old, my favorite color is green, I like turtles, and something interesting about me is that… I'm from South Carolina." He said, conveniently leaving out that he was an orphan, because of **O.U.R **which stands for "Orphan Unspoken Rules." Every Orphan knew about it and it basically meant, there are things you don't talk about. For example, the fact that you are an orphan! That would only make people talk and pity you.

"Hi, I'm Alex, short for Alexander, I'm 10 years old, my favorite color is also green, my favorite animal is lions, and I like to write stories." He said.

"Hi. I'm Hercules, yes just like the Disney character, I'm 10 years old, my favorite color is maroon, my favorite animal is… Rhinos, and a fact about me could be that I grew up here in New York City." He said. As the day continued, everything moved in a blur until lunch. John and Alex decided to sit next to Hercules. He seemed like a nice and cool person to hang out with, and on top of that, he seemed as if he had no friends.

"Hey! Mind if we sit?" Alex said motioning towards the seats next to the boy. He nodded and they sat. They weren't allowed to sit where ever they wanted, but they did have a choice in which seat they wanted to sit in from the 3 tables that belonged to their class. The trio started talking and became friends before the day ended. This year was different from 4th grade because they had to switch classes. They only had to switch between two classes, the other being directly next to their first class. Everyone switched classes at the same time, and to the same class. The first one was Social Studies, Language Arts, and Reading while the second one was Science and Math. Everyone actually liked this set up because it made them feel older than they were. Like if they were in middle school or even high school!

"Hey Hurc, wanna hang out after school today?" Alex asked him as they were getting on their own respective buses.

"Sure! How about we hang at your place?" Hurc asked Alex, but immediately, both John and Alex said, "NOO!" in a quick panic, which caused Hurc to be very confused.

"Um ok then I guess we can hang out at my house." He said still a bit unsure as to why they answered that way.

"Yeah, yeah. That's a better idea!" Alex said in relive as John nodded his head.** O.U.R **was very important to them as you can tell. Hurc told them where he lived, then got on his bus, and Alex and John got on theirs. They were to meet after they got their homework done around 4 pm, giving them at least 2 hours after they got out from school.

John and Alex walked to Hurc's house at 4:40 pm, and luckily, it wasn't very far, but even if it was, they still would have gone. They liked Hurc a lot and wanted to be good friends with him.

"Hi! You guys must be Hercules's new friends! Come on in!" a young woman said to them opening the door. They walked in the homey apartment, and waited in the living room for Hurc. His mother told them shortly after that they can go knock on his door that was down the hall, and to the left.

"Hey John! Hey Alex! Took you long enough!" he said jokingly at them opening the door and seeing them there. That afternoon, they spent the whole time outside, on bikes, drawing with chalk, playing tag, and playing different games. They were sad to leave when the time had come, but they knew that they would see each other at school the next day. They also knew that they had to be at the orphanage before 7:30 pm or else, they would be in big trouble. They said their goodbye's and began to walk back. There, they got ready for bed like any other night, but since they got home at 7:20 pm, and because and had taken a shower and got ready as soon as they got there, they missed dinner. They were not allowed to go and get food to eat after dinner was served either because the food had to be regulated, so they just went to bed without eating. What else could they have done? They could have asked to eat dinner at Hurc's house, but they didn't want to be rude or be a bother. This was definitely not their first time going to bed hungry. Especially for Alex who had grown up poor. On an island. After a hurricane. He remembers that one time, when they were younger, John had asked him why he is never really upset about when things are bad for him and that's when he had told John about what he learned on the island. Complaining won't fix anything and on top of that, someone always had it worse. Always. At first, John didn't go by that saying, but after a year or two, he started to realize how true it was and began to believe in it as well. Because of this, they did not complain about it at all.

As the rest of the year went by, the trio became the best of friends! They always hung out after school and told each other everything! Well… not everything. Like the fact that they were orphans. Maybe one day, but not anytime soon. Before they knew it, it was the end of the year and only one week remained. During this week, they had some of the best times of their lives. They didn't do any school work, danced to music in class, got to go to their own banquets just for the 5th graders, and got to watch movies in class and even eat their lunch in class rather than in the cafeteria. They had the best teacher in the whole 5th grade hallway and so, had the best time. When the last day came, john and Alex had been living separately in different foster homes, but were still close. Hurc, Alex, and John had made a vow to hang out ALL of the time and to not loose contact. They did stay true to that promise and met at least 3 times a week to do something. Alex got back to the orphanage first, and John came about 2-3 weeks later.

Finally, it was August 20th, and school was to start tomorrow. Not just any school, but middle school! All throughout 5th grade, their math/science teacher had warned them about how different middle school was from elementary and basically made it sound like a college, but they were certain that they would be just fine. The orphanage made sure that everyone had all of their supplies and were ready for school the next day. Most of the things that they had were donated items, or the product of money donations, but believe it or not, they were still really good quality and things like that. At 9, they were all sent to bed, and at 7 am, they were all awaken. Their school started later this year, at 9 am rather than 8 am. Everyone likes it better this way anyway. Well at least all of the middle schoolers. Oh, did I forget to mention that they both moved rooms? Yeah, once they turned 11, they get moved into the B hall. B was for ages 11-13 and although Alex was still 10, they let him stay in the B hall since he was in 6th grade now. They did this to all the 10-year-old 6th graders. John and Alex both woke up, tired as can be, and got ready for their new school. They had a different bus stop this year obviously, but it still wasn't that far. Before they knew it, they were on the bus, at school, and in their new 1st period. They had different classes, but had the same lunch, 5th, and 7th which was still better than having _no _classes together. Alex had 1st with Hurc though which is good. He also has Lunch, 4th, and 7th with him. Then, Hurc had 2ed with John.

Alex sat down next to Hurc in 1st period which was Language Arts. There, they did the same that they always did on first day of school, which was none other than ice breaker which they so dearly "Loved" but they also got to hear about what it's like in middle school from their teacher, and got to learn what they will be learning this year from her. As for John, his 1st period was science. It was on the 2nd floor of their 3-story school. He basically did the same thing there as well. This was 6th grade.

_**A/N: Thank you for reading! I hoped you enjoyed. If you haven't noticed, I've been trying to skip passed some years of their lives, nothing significant happening then. The real fun happens somewhat around middle school and definitely in High school, so look out for that those! **_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

2nd week of school, Monday, and things were finally starting to make sense and started to flow. That's when a new student got added to their 7th period. He was also in Hurc's and John's 2ed, and Alex's 6th. He was a transfer student from France. As far as anyone was concerned, he didn't speak ANY English at all. Well, he didn't speak at all in fact.

"I think we should ask him to sit with us!" John said enthusiastically to the group at Lunch. Their Lunch was like elementary, with them going to a class room first, then that teacher taking them to the cafeteria where they had a certain table that they needed to sit at. This time, it was only one table since they were much bigger than their elementary school lunch tables. They always sat towards the end of the middle and the new kid was sitting alone, awkwardly in the opposite corner of the table.

"We don't even know if he speaks English though!" Hurc said.

"Well it doesn't hurt to try. We can always motion for him to sit here." John said getting up and walking to where he was sitting and bending down to level. Hurc and Alex had exchanged a look of unsureness. Within a few seconds, the new kid was sitting between Alex and John, with Hurc being directly across from him.

…

…

…

It was an awkward silence for about 3 minutes until John spoke up.

"Sooo... What part of France do you come from? Paris?"

"Paris isn't the only place in France Dumb-dumb!" Alex told John.

"Geez, I was only asking! No need to be rude!"

"Uh, non. Chavaniac. Paris, non" He stuttered out, trying to get them to understand.

"Parle vous Anglais?" Alex asked him which caused both Hurc and John to look at him wide eyed.

"Non. Un peu, mais, parle vous français?!" he asked excitedly.

"Oui! Ma mère et mes amis connaissaient le français, alors j'ai appris, mais c'est peut-être un peu mauvais. Je n'ai pas parlé français depuis des années !" He said to the boy. The other two just listened in in amazement.

"Since when do you speak French?!" John asked him surprised.

"Since… forever, I guess. I don't know. I was telling him that my mother and friends knew French so I learned, but I may be a little bad at it since I haven't spoken it in years." He said modestly. The other 2 were still shocked though. As the day went by, those of the group that had Laf in their class hung out with him-even though John nor Hurc could speak to him.

2 months in to the school year later, the trio turned into 4. Laf was learning English at a fast rate actually, and started having simple conversations with them in English. Nothing too crazy though. The first week of school, the group had noticed 2 girls that seemed cool and friendly and now, they were more popular than ever! Although they were just a 6th and 7th grader, the whole school adored them, and they were never cocky or mean about it either.

"Look! The Schuylers' are right there! We should talk to them!" Hurc said pointing to them in the cafeteria.

"Aww! Little Hercules is trying to get a girlfriend?" Alex said in mockery, then laughed. Hurc just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. To be _friends_ with them!" he said emphasizing on the word friends.

"But Mon amis, they are in the other table. We can't go there…" Laf told him.

"Who said that?! No one will know if we come back on time~" John said slyly.

"…fine…" he said with his head down. He hated breaking rules and lying.

They walked next to the wall as to not get a lot of attention and slid in 4 seats, some across, and some next to the Schyuler Sisters.

"Hi! I'm Alex! This is John, Hurc, and that's Laf." Alex said to the younger one at the table.

"Hi! I'm Eliza and this is my big sister Angelica." She said, happily receiving the new guest. They all said hi to each other, then started talking about… well, 6th grader stuff. They of course, became friends. Best friends! Before the day could finish, they all just started hanging out, like they knew each other for years. Angelica and Eliza were the daughters of a very famous and rich General by the name of Philip. Philip Schyuler. Although this was true, the girls were humble and didn't go around bragging about their social status or buying expensive things. This is what made Alex, John, Hurc, and Laf like them. There were some people there who wanted to be their friends for their money like Aaron Burr. He was a boy who had been going to school with Alex and John since 4th grade, but was always so quiet and to himself. He didn't really have friends and the times that the group tried to talk to him, he pushed them away. He was very smart though -like Alex, so they seemed to have somewhat of a friendship through that. It was strange though. They would get along and work fine together most of the time if it involved school- like if the teacher had put them in a group together, but alone with things that were not academic, they just…didn't. Aaron was not a bad guy, in fact, he had a very interesting personality, it's just that he seemed to disagree on EVERYTHING with Alex- not to mention the rest of the group. Anyway, by winter break, Eliza and Angie were begging Laf, Hurc, Alex, and John to join them for a sleepover at their house as to not stay alone on the 28th of December. They said that their father throws a Winter's Ball every year to honor their mother that passed 3 years ago since they had met at a Winter's Ball 13 years ago- December 28th, 1993—that was hosted by the state, but was never thrown again.

"It was sadly a one-time thing, but mom had loved it so much and constantly talked about it. When she passed, our father had the brilliant idea to rent out the ballroom that they had met at. He throws his own Winter's Ball each year-round!" Eliza explained.

"We aren't allowed to attend since father says we are too young. The age limitation for anyone to attend is 16. *sigh* I still have 3 years to go, while Eliza 4 and Peggy 5." Angie said.

"Wait, wait, wait! Who's Peggy? "Hurc asked them.

"Oh! We've never told you about her? Sorry. She is our youngest sister. She is in 5th grade." Angie told them.

"THER IS ANOTHER SCHULER SISTER AND YOU GUYS DIDN'T TELL US?!" Laf gasped exaggeratedly whilst placing both hands on his head. They all laughed at this.

"Sure! I don't see why not! Plus, I'd love to meet this younger sister of yours~" Alex told them booping Eliza's nose, getting a giggle from her. This caused Angie, Hurc, and Laf to look at each other with a smug look. John kind of just looked away. He loved Eliza and he loved Alex, but the idea of them being a thing was kind of unnerving for him. NOT THAT HE LIKED ELIZA! It was just… they were his best friends and if they got together, everything would change. The rest didn't see it like that though. They thought it cute.

"I'm in too! I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind!" Hurc stated confidently.

"Please! Sarah is the kindest soul I've met! She _is_ going to let you! Speaking of which, I'm in too!" John stated.

"I guess that I _have_ to accept too now." Laf said jokingly.

"Yes, I do _suppose_ so. Gee, we are _soo_ sorry for having _forced_ you to go now." Alex sarcastically apologized. Laughter was followed. "So anyway, what are we doing today? "He asked. They have been sitting on the entrance steps of Laf's parent's apartment this whole time, just talking. Everybody sat in silence for about 30 seconds just thinking when John spat something out.

"Why don't we just hang at central park?"

"Sure! If you wanna get lost again!" Alex said in mock happiness then fading to realism.

"Wait, you got lost in central park? Oh, now you _gotta _tell the story!" Hurc said changing position to get more comfortable and to face john, who was behind him. Everyone did the same.

"Yeah John. Tell them the story~" Alex said with a smug face which was responded with an annoyed squinted eyed look from John.

"Ok first of all," John began, "That was a year ago and it was because it was my first time there! That _doesn't_ count!"

"Oh yeah, I remember now! You're from South Carolina! Why'd you come here?" Hurc asked which got a worried some and regretful look from both Alex and John. They glanced at each other hoping to get some help.

"Uh… haha my uh… my uh dad actually was…"

"Looking for new job opportunities!" Alex continued noticing that he was getting stuck.

"Oh, ok. And how about you Alex. You've never said where you're from." Hurc asked.

"O.U.R!" he loudly said. Of, course, John understood but the others, not so much.

"Uhhhhhh… what?" Laf asked him, very confused. Alex noticed the blank expressions on his friends' faces. Looking at John, he saw him give a look that spoke 'what are you doing?!'

"Uh, I mean, I'd rather not talk about it, but if you must know, an Island. That's all I want to say about it for now." He said, looking down, trying to get the subject to be changed. Even with John, he would use O.U.R simply because he wasn't ready to talk about it. He didn't think he'd ever be ready. John didn't mind though since he himself used O.U.R a lot with Alex.

"Okay then, no problem, but that still doesn't answer what we will be doing today." Eliza claimed. Laf's face lit up at that moment.

"CAN WE GOING TO SEE !" he asked excitedly.

"Its 'can we go' not 'going' Laf, and that's kind of far to be honest…" Alex told him.

"Oh, come on! Why not?! I mean, I've never been! Let's go!" Eliza ecstatically said, getting up from her sitting position.

"Hold up Lizzy! Shouldn't we ask permission at least?" Hurc chimed in, in concern.

"Ugh! Why so difficult mon amis? Fine. I'll ask." Laf groaned as he got up and walked inside and to the 3ed floor. He came back shortly.

"Maman said its fine, as long as we don't come back to late!"

"YAY!" they all said in unison. They then got up and ran to the subway. It was 10 minutes to the Houston station from Laf's place but they got there. They then got on the 1 train and rode it to the south Staten Island station, where they then had to walk to the actual ferry station. It was a bit scary being in such a big area with a bunch of strangers being just 11 and 12-year-olds, but being in New York and also always being out alone made it not all that bad. They got on the boat and found a big empty space for them near the window opening. The cool breeze swooshed pass them and blew their hair through the wind. It felt a bit cold, but their coats and jackets worked hard to keep them warm. After a few minutes of silence and just admiring the view, Eliza gasped and pointed out while clinging on to Alex.

"Look! There it is!" She squealed happily. They all turned to her direction and saw the statue. It was MUCH bigger up close. Their gloves became wet from the cold concentration of the metal rail, but they didn't care. Eliza was hugging Alex from behind, which made John cringe a bit and roll his eyes. 'Why wouldn't he like her?!' he thought to himself as he looked at her for a moment. Her long, straight, dark brown hair that reached her waist gentle swayed in the breeze. Her nose and cheeks gleamed a soft pink due to the cold, and her clear, honey colored eyes shimmered with life. She was so eccentric and... well, pretty! He never felt anything towards any girls before, but he knew when someone was pretty, and Eliza was definitely one of them. Angelica on the other hand, was pretty in a completely different way. She had shoulder length, curly brown hair—like John's curls, but tighter. Her dark complexation contrasted to that of her sister's pale skin. Their eyes where the same though: that honey brown color. She too was filled with life, but in a less... well in a less 'girly' way as he would put it. Angie was more of a realist. She didn't swoon over boys too much and didn't draw cute flowers and hearts on all of her papers like her sister. Angelica had a tendency to pull you in with her kindness and knowledge. Not to say Eliza wasn't smart in any way! Angelica just showed off her knowledge more.

After the boat stopped at the dock again, everyone got off and the group was about to head back to the station and back to Laf's house. They would stay out, but it was freezing outside being December and all.

Once back at Laf's apartment, he whipped out his Wii and got out Mario Kart. Now, the games were on! Since only 4 players could play at a time, they took turns between the 6 of them. The person who came in last each round had to trade with someone else who wasn't playing. No friendships where destroyed, but the competition was real.

_**A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading this chapter and for following along in this story! I tried to add a bit more depth to this one. I based most of their middle school experiences off of my own, so it should be somewhat accurate for most schools. I don't have much to say other than that, so see y'all next chapter!**_


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